Crime costs small firms €1.5bn

An acute lack of trust in law enforcement and the judiciary is contributing to a huge increase in crime against small and medium businesses which is costing the sector €1.5bn a year.

Just 5% of SMEs trust that the perpetrator of a crime against their business would be apprehended by gardaí. As such, almost a fifth don’t report such incidents.

This “climate of mistrust” has allowed the cost of crime to businesses to soar by 136% since 2007. It now costs each business an average €14,200 a year, including security costs.

The figures were yesterday released by Isme, whose chief executive, Mark Fielding, said they give rise to concern and called for crime against business to be taken more seriously by authorities.

“Any attack on small and medium business is an attack on business viability, economic stability, and, by extension, social prosperity,” he said.

“This Isme National Crime Survey Report gives cause for concern. Business crime must be taken more seriously by the relevant authorities and must be investigated and penalised accordingly to restore confidence in the justice system. At an annual cost of approximately €1.5bn, it is fair to say that this problem is doing extensive damage to the economy and hindering job creation.”

Isme called for a number of measures to combat the problem, including:

* The establishment of a national forum on crime to analyse the problem;

* Improved recording and reporting of crime against businesses;

* Increased levels of CCTV and numbers of gardaí in town centres;

* The launch of a website outlining crime prevention methods.

Mr Fielding said smaller enterprises are more vulnerable to crime and experience greater difficulty in absorbing the costs of victimisation.